Controlled ventilated container



July "1 6, 1946. l. HILL CONTROLLED VENTILATED CONTAINER Filed Dec. 31, 1943 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTR: fry/n9 /7/'// W ATTORNEYS.

July 16, 1946. HILL 2,404,065

CONTROLLED VENTILATED CONTAINER Filed Dec. 31, 1943 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR:

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Patented July 16, 1946 UNITED STATES CONTROLLED VENTILATED CONTAINER Irving Hill, Lawrence, Kans., assignor to The Lawrence Paper Company, Lawrence, Kans., a corporation of Kansas Application December 31, 1943, Serial No. 516,411 r 2 Claims.

This invention relates to containers and more particularly to containers having controlled ventilation for commodities such as eggs, meats and the like which require change in air circulation due to different temperature and humidity conditions during storage and shipping, and has for its principal object to provide a case which may be ventilated or not as theuser desires. In the shipping and storage of many commodities it is necessary that the container therefore be ventilated as for instance in the storage of eggs whereinthey are maintained in spaced relation and when said commodities are removed from the moist storage it is desirable to close the case and stop further ventilation whereby the interior moisture is retained. It is also common to provide ventilation openings in the side of containers requiring, when placed in stacks in a storage space, that the individual stacks be spaced to provide proper ventilation of the commodities. By providing correct and ventilation openings in such containers the number of openings required to provide proper ventilation is reduced providing a stronger container and the stacks may be placed side by side thereby decreasing the space required for the commodities. Other objects of the present invention are therefore to provide end ventilation of containers and commodities therein; to provide a container adapted for ventilation of commodities such as eggs while in moist storage and adapted to be closed to stop ventilation when removed from such storage; to provide for selective ventilation of containers; to provide a panel adjacent the Walls of a container having ventilation openings therein for controlling the ventilation of the commodities in the container; to provide a container with an inner liner having ventilation openings selectively registrab-le with openings in the container to control ventilationof same; to provide a container with a plurality of inner liners adapted to separate the container into compartments; to provide for removing selected inher liners together with the contents of the respective compartments; and to provide for reversing the inner liner for controlling ventilation of the respective compartments.

In accomplishing these and other objects of the invention, I have provided improved details of structure, the preferred arrangement of which is illustrated in the accompanying draw-'- ings wherein:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of one form of container embodying the present invention, portions being broken away to illustrate the structure thereof. l Fig. 2 is a partial perspective view of the container of Fig. 1 showing a ventilation control panel partially removed. I

Fig. 3 is a detail vertical sectional view of the container substantially on the line 33, Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a transverse sectional view on the line 4-4, Fig. 1, showing the ventilation control panel in position to provide ventilation "of the container. Fig. 5 is a transverse sectional view, similarlto Fig, 4 with the ventilation openings closed by th ventilation control panel.

Fig. 6 is a transverse sectional view showing a modified arrangement of the ventilation'openings wherein the panel is reversed from side to side to control the openings. r

Fig. 7 is a perspective view of a container showing a modified form of an inner liner partially removed.

Fig. 8 is a longitudinal sectional view through the container of Fig. 7 showing the inner liners arranged for ventilating the respective compartments formed by the liner.

Fig. 9 is a longitudinal sectional view through the container of Fig. 7 showing the inner liner arranged in ventilation closing position.

Referring more in detail to the drawings:

l designates a container particularly adapted for shipping and storage of eggs and other commodities wherein due to variation in the shipping and storage conditions, it is desirable to control the ventilation of the commodities therein. The

container preferably includes side walls 2 and3 and end walls 4 and 5, inturned flaps 6 and-l being provided on the lower edges of the end walls 4 and 5. Flaps'B and 9 are provided on the lower edges of the side walls 2 and 3 and adapted to be folded inwardly under flaps 6 and I and glued or stapled thereto to form the bottom of the box. Sealing strips Ill and H may be applied to the flaps for sealing the lower portions of the container. Side flaps l2 and I3 may be provided on the upper edges of the side walls.2 and 3 if desired. The upper ends of the end Walls of the container are preferably provided with flanges l4 and I5 which are folded outwardly and down- Wardly and if desired are secured to the end of the container to form a shoulder l6.

ll designates a cover preferably of the same material as the container and of suitable size and shape to fit over and close the container. The cover preferably consists of a body member preferably having end flanges l8 and I9 foldable over.

also be provided on the cover member and if desired said side flanges may be secured to the end flanges on the cover member in any suitable manner.

In the formation of the present container it is preferable that the blanks for both the container and the cover be cut from water resistant fiber board such as asphalt treated fiber board whereby there is relatively no penetration of moisture into the container.

Due to the fact that such containers in the shipping and storage of eggs and like commodities are stacked in tiers, it may be desirable to reinforce the bottom members of the container and also provide supports for the cover member to prevent collapse thereof. We, therefore, provide a container inner liner including a partition member adapted to be inserted transversely in the container and midway between the ends thereof to separate the interior of the container into compartments 2'! and 28.

The inner liner preferably is formed of an elongated blank of the same material as the container and is preferably of the same width as the spacing between the sides 2 and 3 thereof. The blank is preferably folded at a central point as at 29 forming overlying panel members 39 and 3| which are of substantially the same height as the .ends 4 and 5 of the container. Flaps 32 and 33 are preferably provided on the lower ends of the panels and 3| respectively and are of such length that they extend from the partition to adjacent the end walls 4 and 5 of the container. Said flaps 32 and 33 are provided with fold lines 34 and 35 spaced slightly from the end of the container to form upwardly extending panels 36 and 31 spaced from the end walls as at 38 to form recesses for the insertion of panels 39 and 40. In this construction, an insert 4| may be placed over the upper faces of the bottom side flaps 8 and 9 of the container and extends substantially the distance between the container bottom end flaps 6 and The insert 4| and flaps 5, 8 and 9 form a. triple thickness at the bottom of the container and the panels 36 and 31 co-operate with the end walls 4 and 5 and the panels 39 and 40 to form tripled end wall thickness thereby providing a container having great rigidity in the bottom and end wall structures as well as strength in the partition or midrib adjacent the middle portion of the cover.

In order to provide ventilation of the commodities in the container and also permit the tiers of said container to be stacked side by side, I preferably provide ventilation openings 42 and 43 in the end walls 4 and 5 in alignment with openings 44 and 45 in the panels 36 and 31 and openings 49 in the panels 39 and 49 adapted to be placed in alignment with the openings in the end walls and the upwardly extending panels 33 and 31 to provide ventilation through the ends of the container. Openings 4'! may be provided in both panels of the midrib whereby ventilation may be had from end to end through the container. Since 4 it is desirable that the ventilation be controlled, the panels 39 and 40 are removable and the openings in the respective panels so arranged that when said panels 39 and 40 are removed from the spaces 38 between the end Walls and the upwardly extending members on the liner are in-. verted, the openings 46 will not register with the openings 42, 44, 43 and 45 respectively as illustrated in Fig. 5. In this manner the ventilation of the container may be selectively controlled to provide ventilation for commodities under moist conditions and to provide a sealed container for commodities under other conditions.

A modified arrangement of the ventilation openings 48in the end walls, upwardly extending members on the liner and the panel members 39 and 49 is shown in Fig. 6 in which the ventilation openings are so arranged relative to each other that the panel member may be withdrawn in the same manner as in the preferred form and reversed from side to side, and replaced in the space between the end wall and the upwardly extending liner member to arrange the ventilation openings in said panel out of registry with the openings in the end walls and the upwardly extending members on the liner.

A further modified form of container is shown in Figs. '7 to 9 wherein the ventilation of the container and the'respective compartments therein is controlled by the positioning of the inner liners. The container 53 is substantially of the same structure shown in Figs. 1 to 5 inclusive and is provided with ventilation openings 5| in the end walls 52 thereof. A cover 53 is provided for closing the container in the same manner as shown in Figs. 1 to 5 inclusive.

A plurality of inner liners 54 and 55 are preferably provided for dividing the container into compartments 56 and 51. Each of the inner liners are formed of elongated blanks having transverse fold lines 58 and 59 to form a, bottom member 59 of substantially the same length as the respective compartments, and upwardly extending panels 5| and 62 at each end thereof. The upwardly extending panels are preferably of such length that they extend to the top of the container walls and the panels adjacent the center of the container form a midrib or partition 53, the outer panels adjacent the ends of the container overlie the end walls to provide a double thickness at the ends of the container.

The upwardly extending panels 6| and 62 are preferably provided with hand holes 54 adjacent the upper edges thereof to aid in grasping said panels for removing the respective liners from the container. When the container is filled with commodities such as eggs, the hand holes in the liners for the respective compartments may be grasped and said liners lifted from the container together with the entire contents of the respective compartment. This structure is particularly advantageous in plants processing eggs with coatings or the like as the eggs can be removed, treated and replaced in the container with less labor and breakage. Even though the contents of the container are not removed for processing, there are times when it is desirable to transfer the contents from one container to another and in such transfers this structure saves time and labor and lessens the danger of damage to the commodities being handled.

Ventilation of the respective compartments is controlled by providing openings 65 in one of the upwardly extending panels of the liner; for

instance, panel 6|, said openings being arranged for registry with the openings in the end walls of the container when the liner is turned so the panel 6| overlies said end wall. If Ventilation of the commodities in one of the compartments is desired, the liner and commodities are lifted from the respective compartment and turned so the panel 6| is adjacent the end wall and replaced in the container. The openings 5| and 65 are then in registry and air may enter and circulate through the compartment as when the commodities are in moist storage.

If no ventilation is desired as when the container and commodities are removed from moist storage, the respective compartment liners are removed and again reversed placing the panels 6| having the openings 65 therein at the center of the container and the plain panels in position to overlie the end walls 52 and cover the ventilation openings therein. In this manner the respective compartments may be selectively ventilated or not by the positioning of the liner therein as when the liners and contents are removed for transfer or processing of said contents.

From the foregoing it is believed apparent that I have provided a container adapted to take care of ventilated or not ventilated uses and that such container may be stacked wherein the tiers may be placed side by side reducing the space required for such container. It is also apparent that the liner provides control of ventilation and permits removal of the compartment contents. Said liner and partition structure also provides a very rigid container to protect the commodities therein from being crushed regardless of the manner of handling of said containers.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. An egg case comprising a container having bottom, side and end walls, said end walls of the container having ventilation openings therein, and a plurality of liners removably mounted in the container, including bottom members and upwardly extending panels, the abutting panels of each liner forming a partition separating the container into compartments, the other panel of said liners being provided with ventilation openings registering with the ventilation openings in the end walls of the container, and said liners being reversible for controlling ventilation of the respective compartments.

2. An egg case comprising a container having bottom, side and end walls, said end walls of the container having ventilation openings therein,

and a plurality of liners removably mounted in 

